Social Media and Analytics

We all have seen the hundreds of post and blogs dedicated to Social Media and I think it’s wonderful but please keep in mind; it is time consuming to engage your audience and you must be sure you have the right potential “buyers mix” or you’ll never be more than an interesting tweet or post.

Social Media is a wonderful way to introduce potential consumers with your product and or services. But doing a little research 1st, will assist you in improving the future of your sales/engagement. There are many “Self Proclaimed Gurus” out there screaming that they can get you 100,000’s of follower, well that would be great if they were 100,000 followers that were interested in your product or service but that isn’t the case. What I want to convey is that by being behavior-selective, geo-targeting and product-targeting your audience you can increase your sales and ROI. So, what do I mean by that? If I am selling products for older customers then I need to find them, right? How? Data! If you have your own data great, email your Analytical department and have one of your analyst start working with your Social Media department. Your analyst (if experienced) will be able to data mine your internal transactional data and find “your target audience” to engage with through Social Media. What if you don’t have an “Analytical department” or a “Social Media department”? I would recommend you use someone similar to myself, or learn how to do it yourself. I would love to assist anyone out there interested in either hiring Analytical Solution as a Consulting Company and or a Trainer. Regardless if you are a CMO or a C staff member or just a Small to Medium Business Owner, analytics can greatly improve your ability to find and engage with the “right” customers.

T.V. and Radio are in AWE of the power of “engagement” and I think most of the world is too. Let’s use this wonderful tool but let’s use it Smartly, Responsibly and with Ethics. Remember that it’s your “Name” or “Company” that is being put out there for millions to see. Have fun, make someone laugh, tell them something interest and you’ll have a person ready to listen to more about what you sell or promote.

A couple of examples of how analytics are used:

‘Grocery Stores’
The stocking layout in a grocery store has been designed to increase the dollar amount you purchase. Cereal is not next to milk, so you have to walk past other tempting items to buy both. This was designed using the analysis of data from shopping receipts.

‘The Love Canal’
In short, a neighborhood was worried about a high number of birth defects among their children. A statistical analysis found that there were no statistical significant difference in the number of birth defects in the neighborhood, compared to similar neighborhoods.

A scientist took up the case and instead looked at the number of birth defects in houses built on top of a filled-in canal, compared to other houses in the neighborhood. The result jumped out at them and revealed that toxic waste had been dumped in the canals. Waste which was now causing birth defects

The morale: When you crunch the numbers and do a thorough data analysis that combine different data (health records and geographic info in this case), you can discover significant things right in your back yard! The data of your business can hide clues that you’d never discover in your day-to-day activities. At the same time, it shows that it’s important to listen and work with the guys on the floor, which sense and see things that others higher up can’t.